KELLY GOES TWO FROM TWO AT NELSON'S RUFF'N'TUFF 250

He fought his way through thick, choking dust on a fast and narrow forest course, took a fist-sized rock to the forehead for his trouble but Ashley Kelly was rewarded on Saturday with his second Nelson endurance race title.
The 2013 Supercheap Ruff’n’Tuff 250 attracted a field of 30 cars including two North Island teams looking for race time in preparation for the epic ENZED Taupo 1000 in September: Levin’s William van der Wal and Gisborne-based Shane Humberstone.
Local racer Kelly recently purchased the sport’s most successful race car, a Cougar Evo single-seater with a flat-four aircooled engine created by Cougar Cars co-founder Tony McCall. The car took McCall to more than ten national titles, won Dennis Andreassend a national title and has now carried Kelly to a dominant win at the final southern round of the 2013 New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship.
Now finished in Kelly’s signature bright yellow, the Cougar is considered one of the most potent cars in New Zealand offroad racing.
Kelly’s win was no walk-over. He faced strong opposition from a variety of top race machinery, including two other unlimited-class race cars driven by Christchurch’s Vinnie Harvey and former local Blake McDonald, who was making his first appearance in the sport in Kelly’s old car; three powerful Pro Lite-based unlimited-class race trucks and seven of the agile 1600cc-engined class three race cars.
Bryan Chang had his GT Radial Ford Falcon version there, and was joined by Gavin Storer in his bright green V8 four wheel drive Toyota along with Levin’s William van der Wal.
Defending national champion Hamish Lawlor of Tapanui was also in the hunt with his light and powerful class 10 single-seater, which uses a high-revving Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle engine.
In the truck and four wheel drive classes, another racer was tipped to make an impression as well: Invercargill’s Roger McKay had made the long trip north to continue his chase for the class six (Challenge truck) national title. His short wheelbase Nissan, powered by a Chev V8, is regarded as one of the quickest in the class and well able to run in the top five with the lighter single-seaters.
In qualifying sprints on Saturday morning, it was Vinnie Harvey who took pole in his Nissan V6 turbo-powered Ryan single-seater. He flew down the 1 km long there-and-back road-based qualifying section in 53.65 seconds, one of only four to complete the session in under a minute. Kelly was close behind on 53.85, Lawlor on 53.88. Christchurch’s Wayne Moriarty was fourth on 57.94. Another Nelson driver, Gordon Adamson, had his class three single-seater in fifth place and was the only other driver to go under the minute, posting 59.75.
When the race started at 11.00 am, the biggest challenge faced by the field was the fine white dust thrown up off the track. Harvey, first away, ran in clear air and set about trying to shake off Kelly, Lawlor and class three driver Wayne Moriarty.
AS the field completed the first lap, Kelly had taken control, overtaking Harvey to hold a lead he would not give up.
Carl Gardner’s race ended after one lap, his class three car blowing thick smoke out its exhaust.
At the end of the first lap the first truck-class racer was Roger McKay, moving up from eighth to seventh and chasing down Reece Trotter in a Polaris UTV.
Hard charger Ian Simcox (production-class Mitsubishi Pajero) was battling Steven Boyd (Suzuki Vitara) and Ron Crosby in his newly completed Mitsubishi Pajero.
Bryan Chang’s Ford Falcon had overheated in the sprints, showing signs of a blown head gasket, and he was one of two who had not gridded up to take the start. John Strickett had been forced to make a dash back to Nelson for parts for his Challenger – both drivers started the race one lap down.
On the second lap, the race was over for Nelson’s Darrin Thomason, his Nissan Navara developing engine problems and then a flat tyre, becoming stranded partway around the course when the truck’s fuel pump stopped working.
Ashley Kelly was making the most of the clear air at the front of the field and would extend his lead over the next three laps from 1:20 to 4:16.
The sun-washed sections of the course were cloaked in thick clouds of dust that hung in the air. In these dusty sections the turbocharged cars were scrabbling for grip, some drivers reporting their cars wheelspinning in all gears under acceleration.
Where mature pines shaded the course, conditions were ideal and traction plentiful and behind Kelly the cars of Harvey, Lawlor, Moriarty and Adamson were locked in a fierce tussle for podium positions and class wins.
From lap 3 of 18 the front-runners were lapping the tail of the field. Ashley Kelly was keen to maintain his advantage and said he was peppered with rocks as he passed the slower vehicles. One of those rocks flew in through the open screen aperture and smacked him in the forehead, raising a massive welt. It went between his helmet and goggles – a hit that Kelly said was ‘either lucky or unlucky depending on where you see it from!”
“I don’t remember which lap it was, but I saw the rock coming, it was the size of an orange. I tried to put my head down so it would hit my helmet but it happened too quick. I saw stars!” He said.
Kelly slowed momentarily while he recovered from the hit, then continued.
“The car was bulletproof, it ran like a dream all day. I wasn’t going to let that rock put me out if I could help it,” he said.
Rocks were also jamming the car’s gear linkage, causing problems selection gears.
Hamish Lawlor had overtaken Vinnie Harvey on lap three, but was not able to close on Kelly over the ensuing laps as the race approached its midpoint.
The battle in class three between Gordon Adamson and Wayne Moriarty had Gone Moriarty’s way on lap 5, the Nelson racer dropping back as Moriarty pushed through to fourth overall. Then, late in the race, Moriarty was out, having broken the right hand output shaft on his car’s transmission. That turned the battle into a two-way duel between Gordon Adamson and Greg Winn though Adamson was on a fightback having lost time in the middle of the race.
Roger McKay had been close behind this group for the first eight laps, but had to pit to change a flat left rear tyre. He would pit later in the race to check the big truck’s front hubs, which had smashed and left him with only rear wheel drive, then rejoin and surge back to a fine fifth at the finish.
From lap nine, Kelly extended his lead further, running to the flag without challenge and winning Frontline Projects/Phoenix Engineering class 1.
Second overall was Lawlor, who thus wins Kelso Kontracting class 10 for the southern region of the championship; Vince Harvey was third.
In the Mickey Thompson-backed truck classes, class two (production) went to Christchurch’s Steven Boyd; class four (sports/improved trucks) went to local racer Paul Milne; and class six for Challenge trucks went to Roger McKay
Leader Products class three fell to new racer Greg Winn, who was making his championship debut in the RV Magnum Toyota previously run by ORANZ President Donn Attwood.
In Stihl Shop Ellerslie class eight, William van der Wal won the class but does not score points, being a northern region competitor; Christchurch’s Gavin Storer ran out the points winner on the day despite rolling his truck on the last lap; Bryan Chang nursed his ailing Ford Falcon home to be third overall but picked up enough points to win the class for the southern region.
John Strickett’s late start was worthwhile, the Nelson racer winning VW Shoppe challenger class.
In Polaris U-class, Gisborne driver Shane Humberstone rolled his custom-framed Polaris UTV, but had completed enough laps to be classified a finisher. Reece Trotter won the class, finishing seventh overall.
The championship focus now turns to the Hawkes Bay for the last northern regional round, an endurance race in Gwavas Forest, on August 11.